This spectacular beach is made of shells – millions – no, trillions – of tiny little cockle shells deposited over the years up to 10 metres deep in places.

Shell Beach is on the road to Denham in Western Australia and is part of the Francois Peron National Park, which also includes Monkey Mia, the subject of a previous blog.

The beach is not only known for its shells but also the extreme salinity of the water due to sea grasses that form a barrier known as the Faure Sill that restricts tidal flow into the southernmost reaches of the bay.

The tide was out when we visited or a float in the super salty water would have been on the cards but it would have been a 500 metre walk to get to water deep enough for that experience. I’m glad, really, as the wind was a bit chilly 🥶 and I’m a real wimp when it comes to feeling cold 😂

So I enjoyed watching others wade knee deep and run up and down the shelly beach

There we are, front and centre, looking over the beach!

Shell Beach, along with the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool (more about them in another blog!) are a ‘must see’ when you venture off the highway to Shark Bay. It’s a unique area of not only Australia but the whole world!